I have a friend who uses a Roomba. She has it scheduled to vacuum the bottom floor of her house each night after she goes to bed and then she starts out her day with a clean floor. This is one of her secrets to always having a clean house.

It isn’t always easy for me to find time to vacuum or sweep. I might have it on my to-do list each day. If I want my house to look like it hasn’t been a month since I’ve cleaned my floor, I need to make sure to sweep at least daily. A robot vacuum is very intriguing to me and I thought I’d look into it closer.

Robot vacuums save a lot of time and energy and help clean your home while you do other things (like sleep!). They are compact, lightweight and are normally disc-shaped.

A few years ago, they were quite expensive, but as this technology is getting more common, they are now available at a very affordable price too.

Once I looked up the price of a Roomba, I knew I wouldn’t be buying one. This past year has been pretty tight money wise, and we just can’t swing the money needed for a Roomba. I decided to look into alternatives to the Roomba and found some great ones that are affordable!

Why Should You Get a Robot/Automatic Vacuum Cleaner?

A robot vacuum provides a way to gain some time you would be spending vacuuming and sweeping your floors. Some pros to using an automatic vacuum are:

No Manual Operation Required

As you get older, some physical movement becomes harder. Most of my readers are younger than this demographic, but there are still young people who have autoimmune disorders that make using a manual vacuum hard to use. An automatic vacuum can help you keep up your cleaning routine, without the physical strain on your body.

Most automatic vacuums can be scheduled to vacuum at a certain time each day or on certain days of the week. They should do an efficient job cleaning your floors and you shouldn’t notice that it is a robot cleaning your floors instead of you. I know some of the automatic vacuums take a couple times of going through the room to establish all the borders/boundaries the room has and will sometimes miss areas as it’s learning. You will still need to empty the dustbin, but this is quick and fairly easy.

Low Maintenance

Robot vacuum cleaners are easy to clean and maintain. They should also last for several years. The dustbin on the automatic vacuums do need to be emptied frequently.

In order to make sure your vacuum can work correctly each scheduled run, the floor does need to be kept clutter-free, especially from sharp objects and other things that might damage it.

Less Time-Consuming

Your time can be freed up by using a robot vacuum. These automatic vacuums don’t need any supervision and can clean efficiently on their own. With the added time you gain, you can clean other areas of your home or do something else. You don’t even need to be in your home while the vacuum is running.

Adjusts to Different Surfaces

Another great benefit of a robot vacuum cleaner is that some can detect changes in floors or surfaces. These vacuums are equipped with sensors that can detect if there is a change in the surface such as wood, tiles or carpet, and then it can clean according to the type of surface it is on. Carpets are a lot harder for these vacuums to clean though, so don’t expect a deep carpet clean with any of them. Some of these vacuums are better at cleaning carpet and some not so much.

Self-Charging

Robot vacuum cleaners can charge themselves, and this is a very handy feature. There is a dock for charging and robot vacuums return to the charging station whenever the battery is low.

Roomba Automatic Vacuum

The Roomba automatic vacuum is one of the most popular brands of robot vacuum cleaners. This series of automatic vacuum cleaners are created by iRobot, and the first one was introduced in 2002. iRobot was one of the pioneers in the automatic vacuum cleaner field, and its appliances are now considered one of the best available on the market. The Roomba’s are durable and perform well.

The Roomba automatic cleaner is equipped with acoustic sensors, a powerful motor, Wi-Fi connectivity, and many other features to assist the user. The vacuum cleaner is very popular and has gained a lot of trust due to its good quality and performance.

So Why Not Buy the Roomba Automatic Vacuum?

The only thing that is considered a con for the Roomba is that it is very expensive. If budget is not a concern, I’d recommend buying this Roomba and you will be very happy with it.

However, most people have found it very expensive to buy, and that’s the reason why they switch to alternative robot vacuums.

For instance, the Roomba 980 is one of the higher end robot vacuums and sells for around $800 on Amazon. Even the cheapest models of the Roomba automatic vacuum sell for at least $600. Due to the high-end price range, it can be very difficult for most people to afford.

The Good News?

If you can’t buy the Roomba automatic vacuum due to budget constraints, there are Roomba alternatives that are not only affordable but also have all the features you need for cleaning your floors.

Today, we’ll go over the best alternatives to the Roomba automatic vacuum so that you can choose the one that suits your requirements best.

Alternatives to the Roomba Automatic Vacuum

Roomba automatic vacuum cleaners are now facing tough competition as there are some big brands of robot vacuum cleaners that are available at an affordable price. The ECOVACS DEEBOT N79S robotic vacuum cleaner is one product that is available and it comes with about a 120-minute battery life. It offers consistent and thorough cleaning and works very efficiently. It can suck all the dirt, pet hair, breadcrumbs, and debris that your eye can’t see.

Pros

Has a very long battery life.
Offers a 3-mode cleaning system.
Comes with a one-year warranty.
Operates without being stuck due to obstructions.
Has a drop-sensor and anti-collision protection.
Connects to both Alexa and Google Home

Cons

Doesn’t work well on dark colored carpet and thick carpet or rugs
Connecting to the Wi-Fi may prove to be troublesome.
Needs to be in the line of site of the docking station in order to “go home” when running low on battery life

If you are interested in checking out this Roomba alternative, go here.

Eufy RoboVac 11 is one of the best cheap robot vacuum cleaners and is very effective at picking up all the dirt. It is very easy to use, and its dustbin is large so that you don’t need to change it frequently. It is great at picking up all types of dirt and pet hair and can be used on different types of surfaces such as carpets, woods, and tiles. The robot vacuum is equipped with infrared sensors as well, so it can easily navigate around obstructions. It is one of the best robot vacuums for pet hair.

Pros

It is very easy to use
Minimalistic design
Contains a very large dustbin
Has BoostIQ that will know when extra vacuum strength is needed and automatically increase the suction power as needed
Comes with a good battery life.

Cons

It is not good for high-pile carpets and dark-colored floors.
Many reviews talk about it not being able to find it’s way back to the home docking station

The iLife V3s is a decent and simple robot vacuum cleaner that is considerably cheaper than the others, although it does not work on carpet or rugs. It offers pet hair technology to really pick up all the pet hair as well as dirt and debris and delivers a solid cleaning performance. There is a remote control that allows the user to use various controlling options such as steering and moving forward and backward. The iLife V3s is a random vacuum cleaner and will clear various parts of the room itself. You can also choose a specific cleaning mode to make it perform in a certain way.

Pros

Features a no-frills compact design.
Offers multiple cleaning modes.
Sucks up the dirt and debris very efficiently.
Offers good Wi-Fi connectivity.

Cons

There are some reports of it being lost while returning to the charging station.
Does not work well on carpets and rugs (picks up dust, but leaves behind strings or large debris)

The Shark Ion Robot Vacuum RV750 is a high-quality robot vacuum cleaner that is loaded with features to assist your cleaning task. It’s best feature is its voice control, which allows you to give commands through Alexa. It has a self-cleaning brush roll and over an hour of battery life. It is also equipped with smart sensor navigation and has Wi-Fi connectivity as well. There are dual spinning side brushes too that make sure the floors are sparkling clean.

Pros

Operates smoothly and doesn’t get stuck.
Can pick up hair without any hassle.
Removes dirt from edges and corners easily due to its side brushes.
Battery life is long.
Voice control feature is very helpful.

If you don’t care about bells and whistles and you want to spend as little as possible then I would totally recommend the ILIFE V3s Pro Robotic Vacuum. It is a very basic robot vacuum, yet the performance appears to be great. This is the best cheap robot vacuum at about $60 cheaper than the ECOVACS DEEBOT.